Bible testimony, on abstinence from the flesh of animals as food : being an address delivered in the Bible-Christian church...

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ABSTINENCE

FROK TRK

FLESH OP ANIMALS AS FOOD,

PELIYERID IH TH«

BI LU.E-CHKISTIAN GHU&CII

Philadeit)hia, June 8th, 1840.

1 rT.'GLKSHKD BY ORDER OF

1 'i'h& Board of Publicalign of the Church.

1840.

Rare Collection

204
P19s
no. 11

L.Tom Perry Special Collections

Harold B. Lee Library

Brigham Young University

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

3 1197 22950 0191

BIBLE TESTIMONY.

ON ABSTINENCE
FROM THE FLESH OF ANIMALS AS FOOD;

BEIKq

AN ADDRESS

DELIVERED IN THE

BIBLE-CHRISTIAN CHURCH,

NORTH THIRD STREET, WEST KENSINGTON, ON THE EIGHTH OF JUNE 1840.
BEING THE ANNIVERSARY OP SAID CHURCH.

BY THE REV. WILLIAM METCALFE,

PHILADELPHIA.
J. Metcalfe &Co. Printers, back of No. 112, Walnut Street.

Philadelphia, June IQth, 1840.
To THE Rev. Wm. Metcalfe.

Rev. and Dear Sir — In accordance with a resolution adopted by the
members of the Bible-Christian Church, organizing the undersigned
Committee as a Board of Publication, we are requested respectfully
to solicit copy of the Address delivered by you on Whit-Monday,
June eighth, 1840. "On the Bible Testimony on abstinence from
the flesh of animals as food" — in order that the same may be printed.
By complying therewith you will greatly oblige

Yours in the bonds of Christian Fellowship,

JAMES WRIGHT, n

JAMES BROOKS, f

HENRY TAYLOR, > Committee.

JOSEPH METCALFE, L
JONATHAN WRIGHT, J

Philadelphia, June Uth 1840.
Gentlemen,

In reply to your letter containing the wish of the Bible-Christian
Congregation, I have merely to say that if the views of my address are
deemed of sufficient importance to be made public by the Congrega-
tion, it is at their disposal. The Address was written amid many and
pressing duties of a different character, and I only regret it is not
more worthy of the good opinion of the Bible-Christian Church and of
the subject on which it treats.
Very Respectfully,

Yours Truly in the Lord,

WILLIAM METCALFE.
To James Wright, &,c. Committee.

UPB

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

Christian Friends,

It is with feelings of peculiar pleasure that I meet with
you on each returning Sabbath in this placCj — a house,
-which we have consecrated to the worship of Almighty-
God, and in which we have periodically assembled each
returning Sabbath, for a series of years, to worship and
honor, and magnify his Holy Name. But it is with the ut-
most gratification that I have the pleasure of meeting you
here to-day, to celebrate once more the anniversary of our
Church in this, the land of our voluntary adoption. —
Twenty-three years ago, a fev/ of us landed at this city,
strangers, in a strange country, far from those scenes and
associations that had been dear to us from childhood, and
widely separated from our relatives and former friends.
Poor and unknown were we to all whom we beheld around
us, and there were none from whom we had any especial
reason to anticipate the sympathies and consolations of
friendship. We were not, however, discouraged by what
we beheld, nor cast down by our seemingly disconsolate
condition. Our motto was ''The Lord will Provide." Like
Abraham of old, we had left the land of our nativity, to ac-
complish an important work. Oar purpose was nothing
less than to introduce principles of religion and knowledge

4 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

among a free people, which we believed to be essential to
the happiness of all men here, and iiidispensible to
their peace and everlasting salvation hereafter. With
such ends and purposes in view we crossed the waters of
the mighty deep ; with such views we disembarked on the
shores of this fertile land, and the blessing of the Father of
all Spirits has been on our every religious effort. Our la-
bours, though not attended with that display which some
Christian professors have experienced, have yet been crown
ed with signal success, and with the Psalmist we can truly
say, in relation to our progress, *^It is the Lord's doings,
and it is marvellous in our eyes/'

It has been customary with us in commemorating these
Anniversaries of our Church, to address you on some one,
or more, of those peucliar doctrines which we entertain as
Bible-Christians, and by which we are distinguished from
other denominations ; and ii is my intention, this morning,
to pursue the same course, and to present to your serious
and Christian consideration,the Scripture Testimony, so far
as I may be enabled of the Divine Mercy to do so, on one
of those subjects wherein we deviate, both in theory and
practice, from the great body of our Christian Brethren,

You are all aware that the propagation of tenets of a pe-
culiar nature, or the adoption of habits that are singular or
unique, has a tendency to attract the attention of inquisitive
minds, and will often lead them to enquire into the origin
ard foundation of such deviations from the prevailing
opinions and practices of men. In these cases it is a duty
incumbent on the adopters of such peculiarities, whether
in faith or practice, or in Doth,to be * Always ready to give
an answer to every man that asketh the reason of the hope
that is in them." These are precisely the ciicumstances
then, in which we are placed ; we differ from others, and
should be ready to point out the cause ; hence the duty of
searching after truth de>olves upon us impel iously, not

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. 5

only that we may be able to display our views with clear-
ness and perspicuity, to the edification of our brethren,
but also that we ourselves, by our efforts to benefit others,
may progressively approximate to the perfection of that
wisdom which is in Christ Jesus cur Lord.

As a religious community we have adopted a mode of
life, in regulating the appetites and fulfilling the physical
and organic laws of the body, altogether different from the
practices of other Christian professors. We have long
discontinued the very fashionable habit, of feeding on the
flesh of butchered animals, and have confined ourselves
wholly to vegetable productions. We have long resisted
the allurements of the intoxicating bow', and have been
contented to satisfy our thirst from the limpid stream. Tho
system of temperance which we thus religiously practise,
furnishes us with strength and activity sufficient to support
the most laborious occupations, secures one of the all im-
portant blessings of life, the possession of health, — and qual-
ifies us for the enjoyment of a more perfect modeof bti:ig
and intellectual delights, than ever falls to the participation
of the <' Wine-bibber or the glutton."

Deeply impressed with the importance of the doctrine
that ''It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine,"
and knowing it to be the duty of a minister of the Word of
God, faithfully to communicate to his congregation, what-
ever inform?.tion he may deem requisite ''to build them
up in the faith," to assist them to understand the Divine
Record, and to remove every probable objection to the
truth, the credibility or the practicability and usefulness of
his doctrines, I purpose on this occasion, the annual as-
sembly of our Church, with Divine A^^sistancc, to present
you with such a developcment of the doctrine of the Bible,
in relation to abstinence from the flesh of animals as it is
to be hoped, will go far to satisfy you of the correctness of
^ ^^e^etable diet, and of its consistencv with enlightened

6 ADDRESS OlS ABSTINENCE,

i'easdil and harmony with the la^s of our nature, and the
plain testimony of the Word of God.

It is not however the intention of your speaker to enter
into any illustration of the suhject from Anatomical or
Physiological facts, though this might be done very effec-
tually, if here requisite or proper. Looking on the subject
however in a religious light, we propose to treat it as such
and to be guided in o'oir labors by the Sacred Scriptures.
They are confessedly the foundation of all moral, and of
all religious principle. It is in them we have p'cscnted
to our contemplation an unli united source of knowledge.
In them is recorded, for our edification, a Revelation of the
will of the Almighty. Here we find those Sacred Precepts
according to which we are commanded to regulate our
livesj so that we may become the children of God, Here
we have unfolded to us the astonishing work of Creation,
and the still more wonderful operation of Redemption and
Salvation for all that believe. Here also we are taught
to know aright the nature and divine attributes of the
Creator, and the Immortality of our own Souls. Here is
presented to us a display of the end of our existence — the
proper means by which to preserve that existence, and how
to perpetuate our health, prolong our days and participate
of the happiness intended for us by ©ur Maker. To the
evidence of the Sacred pages therefore on the proper food
for sustaining life, in accordance with the will of God — on
preserving health and enjoying '«A sound mind in a sound
body" — and at the same time on progressively gaininp^
more, and more of heavenly wisdom, our enquiries will
this morning be particularly directed.

At the very commencement of the book of Genesis we
find this plain and important commandment prominently
set forth, as one of those laws of direction, essential to the
health and happiness of new-created man: — *^Be/ioid I have
sfiven to you^ ev§n every herb bearing' seed which is ufion

ADDRESS 01^ ABSTINENCE. 7^

the face of the earthy and every trce^ in which is the fruit
of a tree yielding seed', to you it shall befjrfoodJ' Thi^
primeval law of Divine Revelation was undoubtedly given
to diiect the families of markind in the selection of their
appropriate food. That food, according to Ih.e precept, was
to be wholly vegetable. Tlie productions of the earth
alone were to be to them for meat. These, the Creator of
all things deemed fully sufncient to sustain his new formed
creature, man. And who will presume to be wiser thaa
the Omniscient ? Were not the regulations of this original-
Law s\ich as were calculated to preserve the healthy
to support the vigoi% sustain the power, and secure the
physical happiness of the human race ? Have after ages
ever disputed the reality of the enjoyjiients of the primi^
tlve race of men, especially whilst they continued in their
integrity ? Encompassed as they were, by the lovely
scenes of Paradise, and guided and influenced by the nuld
principles of this divine law, whether they contemplated
the glorious vault of heaven, or their eyes reposed r>n the
beautiful verdure of the earth ; — whether they listened to
the sweet music of the murmuring brook, or they wandered
in pleasing reflections amid the umbrageous solitude of
the forest, their erj jyments would doubtless be more in-
tellectual, more spiritucsl, and every way superior to any
thing experienced in our day by degenerated human na-
ture. So entirely have men, in all subsequent times bee-n
persuaded of the truth of this view of the subject, that the
period has been emphatically denominated the Golden
Jge.

**Men of the Golden Age, who fed on fruit,
Nor durst with bloody meals their mouths pollutej
Then birds, in airy space might safely move.
And tim'rous hares on heaths securely rove ;
Nor needed fish the guileful hook to fear —
For all was peaceful and that peace sincere."
What then, Christian Friends, shall we say more con-

8 ADDRESS ON AESTINENCE.

cerning this original Law — this first Revelation of the will
of the Creator of all things, relative to the diet of his
creature man ? Shall we be justified in concluding that it
was intended only by its all-wise Author, to be applicable
to Adam, and that merely during his continuance in Para-
dise ? In so judging we should undoubtedly err; we should
be putting a partial construction on the Divine Record,
when we are most unequivocally assured that the "Scrip-
tures are of no private interpretation," but that "all Scrip-
ture is given for our edification and to make us wise." —
Hence the law we are considering, is for us, as well as for
those to whom it was first given ; its principles, whether
dietetic, or spiritual, or both, concern us all, and it is for
us to apply those principles, according to their fair and
reasonable interpretation, to the regulation of our lives,
the government of our appetites and the subjugation of
all our unhallowed propensities. It appears indeed to be
an incontrovertible fact, that till after the deluge, or for a
period of over sixteen hundred years, mankind were sustain
ed wholly by vegetable food ; it is also clear from the nature
of the Law as recorded in the text before us, that ly^an
was originally intended to live iijion vegetables only ; and
as no change appears to have been made in the organic
structure of men's bodies afier the flood, nor any extraor-
dinary alteration in the vegetable world, to render its pro-
ductions less nutritive tlian they were before, it is not pro-
bable that any change was made, or intended to be made
in the nature of their food. Kx\ illustrious expounder of
the Sacred Scriptures has justly remarked ; ''• Eating the
flesh of animals, considered in it itself, is something /zro-
fane ; for the people of the m.ost ancient time never ate the
flesh of any beast or fowl, but only seeds, especially bread
made of wheat, also the fruits cf trees, esculent plants,
milk, and what is produced from milk, c.s butter <fec. To
kill animals and to eat their fles]-i was unhnvfuh -md scenj-

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. - 9

ed as something bestial ; they only saught from them ser-
vices and uses ; but in succeeding ti lives, when man began
to grow fierce like a wild beast, yea, fiercer, then first
they began to kill animals, and to eat their flesh," The
diet at first prescribed was declared by Infinite Wisdom 'to
be very goodj' and it would be derogatory to his character
to suppose he had erred. We cannot otherwise believe
therefore,biU we arc justified in concluding that the dietetic
principles presented to our consideration, in this first law
ofGod to man, are adapted to ournature, preservative of our
health, calculated to prolong our days upon earth, to give
vigor and energy both to our physical and mental faculties,
and are wortliy of all acceptation.

Were we to judge of the opinions of some of our fellow
Christians however, by th.^ manner in which they speak
and write on this subject, wc could conie to no other con-
clusion than that our Heavenly Father had found it neces-
sary to abrogate one of his first laws to mafikind as imfieV"
fect^ and had seen good to substitute another in its place,
of a nature wholly diflerent to the former. Strange as it may
appear, there are, nevertheless, those to be found among
professors of Christianity wMio have seemingly thus judged
of the ways of the Almighty* Professing to believe in Re-
velation and in the immutability of its Author, ihey yet
contend, particularly when reasoning in support of the car-
niverous habit of feeding on the mangled bodies of butcher-
ed animals, thai an error, of a most serious nature, must
have been committed, when man Was directed to su.^tain
his physical existence by mere vegetable food I '^Morbid
debility" say they, 'induced by an often unfriendly state
of the atmosphere, together with the labor of cultivating
the ground, would necessarily require a higher, and more
stimulating nutriment than the vegetable kingdom could
supply." This imaginary error is supposed to have been
<'found out" about the time of the deluge, and as soon as

10 ADDRESS ON ABSTII^ENCE.

God had made the momentous discovery, he is represent-
ed by them as having promulgated a new law, as if in order
to counteract tlie effects of the unfortunate error attribu-
ted to him. ^'Everij inoving thing that liveth shall be meat
for you'' '*Here," say such reasoners," — '*vve baveindu-
bitabable proof that it is now lawful twO eat flesh! Oh 1
Low very gracious is our God ! Hew comforting the in-
formation contained in this indulgent law ! Is it not as
pk.in as language can express it, that we are here allowed
to eat of every moving thing that liveth^ without any re-
straming self denial, or any needless mortification of our
bodily appetites 1"

We shall not stop to dwell on the inconsistency, nor to
enlarge on the blasphemy of representing the Omniscient
as capable of erring, or of finding cut a mistake in his le-
gislation, which had continued undetected by his Infinite
Wisdom for sixteen hundred years! But we shall bespeak
your serious and unbiassed attention whilst we enquire a
little more minutely into the correctness of the generally
received acceptance of this new law — this supposed in-
dulgent grant to feed on ^^every moving thing that liveth J*

In the first place, then, it appears to us evident from tlio
history and experience of all ages and of all nations, that
"every moving thing that liveth" has never been consider-
ed as fit for meat, by any one class of people on the face
of the whole earth ; even the ferocious cannibal of the
forest, who would feel no compunction at feeding on the
flesh of a fellow mortal, would shrink from the odious
practise of eating ^^ every inoving thing that liveth^'' True
it is, mankind, in the aggregate, have treated the animal
part of creation, much after the manner that the poet has
represented the Mahometans as treating their Prophet's
mysterious charge, in relation to a certain portion of the
swine, thut no good Musselman may tas^e ;— ^

ADDRESS ON AB5)TlJNEN0fi. H

"With sophistry their sauce they sweeten,

Till quite from tail to snout 'tis eaten."
So, one man will eat beef, but not pork, another will eat
mutton, another fish, another bear's-meat, and perhaps
another may be found that would not object to a dish of
fro.<:^s, or snails ; but no where can the man be found that
will eat ^^every moving thing that liveth," Can we then
reasonably believe that the Maker of all things, ever gave
forth such a precept ?

In (he second place, the commonly accepted interpre-
tion of this law is not in agreement with the declarations of
the context : ^^ Flesh with the life thereof which is the
blood thereof shall ye not eat \ for surely your blood of
your lives will I require^ at the hands of every Beast
will I require itj as at Ihe hands oy man," The most inve-
terate devotee to the fashionable habit of flesh eating, will
not surely contend that God, in this text, commanded men
to eat flesh, and yet accompanied that precept with a clause
in which he declares he will require the ^'blood of your
live-^'^ for every beast slain ? If he had intended us to feed
on flesh would he have accompanied the grant with such
a clause? — Would he, as our Creator, have implanted in
our bosoms a feeling of commiseration so hostile to his
])urpose ? — Sympathies so potent for the suffering victim ?
Could he intend that we should eat our food with perpetu-
al compunction, and unceasing disquietude — that every
morsel should be purchased with a pang, and every meal
empoisoned with remorse; — and to increase our consterna-
tion to tlie utmost, would he have imperatively declared
he would require the blood of every slain beast at our
hands^ and have inspired his Prophet to announce unto us
most solemnly that '^He that killeth an ox is as if he slew
a manV Yet all these interrogatories must be admitted
affirmatively, if God has commanded us to eat ^'every
moving thing that liveth^

12 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

To justify the common interpretation of ibis law, how-
ever, and to avoid the force of what we have already advan-
ced, it is contended by some who have undertaken to
comment on the Scriptures, that the term in the Hebrew
Bible translated beasty implies, not only an animal, but that
it is also applied to an uncivilized^ or ignorant person, or
to such as were in a state of Gentilism ; in support of which
they refer us to the Prophet Jonah (Chap, iii.) where not
only the citizens of Ninneveh were commanded to repent
but even the beasts also were directed, by the proclamation
of the King, to sjiread out their hands and cry mightily
to the Lord ! Admitting the propriety of this appeal to
the Hebrew text ; not disputing for the present, the cor-
rectness of the interpretation for which t}\ey contend ;
grant it all, — and does it prove that God has here allowed
man the privilege of feeding on flesh with impunity ? We
think not. We will appeal in our turn, to the inaport of
the original in connection with such facts as will not fail, if
we are not too sanguine in our conclusions, to convince all
minds, untrammelled by the traditions of men, or unin-
slaved by the chains of appetite, that the law under consi-
deration, as given to Noah, has no reference whatever to
eating reptiles, snakes, snails, or any other creeping thing
of an animal nature, all of which are expressly prohibited
or forbidden in the Levitical code (Chap. xi. v; 41.) but
that it relates wholly to the productions of the vegetable
kingdom ; — that it is only an extension, a fuller illustration,
a more particular specification of the principles compre-
hended in God's first law to man. If we were called on
to give a translation of what is rendered every Jnoving
things we would say rather ^^ Every CreefierP But there
is a great variety in the kinds of creepers. There arc
vegetable creepers, as well as animal ones. **The Vme*'
says the intelligent author of the Wonders of Nature and
Art, *4s a noble plant of the reptile or creeping kind."—

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCK. 13

Animal Creepers, we have already seen, were expressly
forbidden as articles of food. The Creeper of which Noah
was by this law allonved to eat, was, in our apprehension
the vine ; or grapes, of every kifid, in common, or for food,
even as they did the green herb^ which fruits, the antide-
luvians had probably used only for sacred or religious
purposes. In corroboration of this view of the subject,
and as if designed to prevent any misapprehension as to
the nature of the Creefier meant in this text, it is expressly
written in the very same chapter, that ^'Noah planted a
vineyard, that he drank of the wine, and that he was satis -
fiedv'* There is, moreover, a further provision in the con*
text of the law, that deserves our notice ; by this they
were mercifully prohibited from using the fruit of these
creepers, when the flesh with the blood — that is, the
'piclfi with ih^ juice had acquired a life or s/iirit by stand*
ing together in a crushed state, till they had spontaneously
fermented, and in consequence of this process, had actu-
ally become inebriating wine — -alike injurious to the physi-
cal and moral life oi man.

Such my Christian Friends is the plain unvarnished
sense of our understanding of the law before us ; a sense
which neither militates against the wisdom, nor the immu-
tability of God ; a sense in perfect harmony with the first
dietetic law given to mankind.

Our views, then, on the subject of a vegetable diet, as
being that regimen designed for man by his Creator, so
far, at least, as relates to the antediluvian world, or for a
period ot more than sixteen hundred years, are acceded
to, without disputation^ as being correct, and as borne out
both by the natural and revealed laws of God; and though
the supposition has been exceedingly prevalent, particularly
among modern professors of Religion, that the Noahic Dis-
pensation commenced with a grant, or precept, direct-
ing men to^'kill and eat,*' we trust, the exposition ot the

14 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

testimony wc have here given, will go far to impress your
rrunds, if not fully to convince your understandings that
they have " foolishly imagined a vain thing" — that they
have suffered their judgments to be biassed rather by the
influence of appetite, and the power of habit, than their
minds to be convinced by the testimony deducible from
the works and the Word of God. In briel, Christian Friends,
we think it must be \"io difficult matter to see that the su-
perstructure erected in defence of gratifying an unnatural,
inhuman, and carniverous appetite is built on a *' sandy
foundation" and cannot stand ; — already, in fact, it is shaken
to its very basis, and in a few more revolving years, as the
light of moral, physiological and religious truth becomes
more general on the subject, it must inevitably sink into its
merited oblivion, and become a mere matter of liistory, at
which to wonder.

We come next to the examination of that part of the
Sacred Oracles which primarily related to the People of
Israel. It is a portion of Scripture of deep, and often ot
thrilling interest to the Christian mind, evincing the Pro-
vidence of God, as exercised over that peculiar people
for good , and we are persuaded, with the Divine Blessing,
you will be led to agree with us, that on the subject of
our present enquiry there is much also recorded that tends
to corroborate our principles in relation to diet.

Among those important commandments, promulgated
by Jehovah from Mount Sinai, for the edification not only
of the Children of Israel, but of generations yet to come,
there is one with which we shall commence our remarks
on this part of the Scripture Testimony : — " Thou shalt
not kill*' is the precept to which we allude. If we can
succeed in satisfying you that this has any bearing upon
the subject under investigation, or that the Great and Mer-
ciful Author, designed it to be understood as extending to
*'th6 cattle upon a thousand hills," we shall not fear, in such

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. 15

case, to persuade you, that eating animal food constituted
no part of the Divine Economy with the House of Israel.
But it will be said, this law is not commonly looked up-
on, by the orthodox portion of the community, as havin<^
any reference whatever to the subject of our enquity; that
its obvious design was only to prevent the murder of human
beings, or to deter man from imbruing his hands in the
blood of his brother ; and that any interpretation beyond
this must be foreign to the intentions of the Author. We
will attempt to meet this conclusion by and by ; in the
meantime we cannot overlook the fact that the history of
all nations, in all ages that are gone by, abundantly evinces
that this precept has had a very inefficacious effect in regula-
ting and directing the conduct of mankind. Wars have
existed between man and man, and between nations of
men. Individuals have been, and still are trained up, ed-
ucated, and supported by the public, for the very purpose
of murdering their fellow beings; and Avars and desolation,
blood and carnage have covered the earth. If we ask of
History, where is her Babylon? — If we enquire where
is Persepolis, where is Phcenecia, Tyre, Sidon, Jerusalem,
Thebes or Athens I We shall be answered they are de-
solated by the sword. Where the remnants of their glory ?
Wasted by the ravages of an invading army. The sword
has devoured them^ Even the very weeds that wantonly
spring up around their ruins, owe their luxuriance to the
blood of their murdered citizens. la a state ef war, this pre-
cept, and indeed every similar institution of GoD,are entirely
superceded by the murderous declarations of man. Theft
is no longer stealing. Killing, in such case, is not murder.
In national warfare it is declared to be just and honorable
to plunder and to kill, and he who proves to be the most
barbarous and successful, acquires the greatest share of
renown. What then is the influence which the command*
nient before us has had in staying man from murder? — -

i^ ADPRESa CN ABSTINEKCK,

The poet has given us a powerful, eloquent and just pic-
ture of man's reckless disregard of this Divine Law :
» * * * " ' Twas man bimeclf
Brouj^ht Death into the world : and man himself
Gave keenness to his darts, quickened his pace,
And multiplied destruction on mankind*
With joy Ambition saw, and soon improved
The execrable deed. 'Twas not enough
By subtle fraud to snatch a single life : —
Puny impiety I Whole kingdoms fell
To sate the lust of power : more horrid sfill,
The foulest stain and scandal of our nature.
Became its boast. One murder made a viHian ;
Million* a hero. Warriors were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crimel**
But, to come again to the import of this commandment*
What certainty have we, Christian Friends, that not to kill
men is the only true and proper sense, morally speaking,
in which it ought to be understood ? It is certain they
could not eat flesh without killing. You will observe that
the language of the precept however is altogether indefi-
nite. 'Thou shalt not kill' — what ? Who has authority
or presumption to limit this precept to killing men ? Is it
not recollected by my hearers that we are peremptorily
enjoined ''not to add to the law, nor yet diuiinish ought
from it.** May we not reasonably believe that its applica-
tion was benevolently intended to reach the animal crea-
tion ? "The cattle upon a thousand hills are mine," saith
Jehovah, and not even a single sparrow falleth to the
ground without the knowledge of your heavenly Father,"
Would not the principles of mercy, and the sympathies of
the human heart lead our judgments to such a conclusion?
For our own part, we believe most sincerely, that this law
was engraven not only on the table of stone on Mount
Sinai, but that the finger of God has written it also on our
hearts ; that there hence exists within us, whilst uncorrup-
ted by the world, a repugnancy to killing animals, and aUo

ADOftESa ON ABSTINENCE. \7

&n av'^fersion to feeding on their flesh ! Had God intend-
ed us so to live, he v/ould not have imparted the milk of
kindness to our bosoms. He always adapts his means to
his ends : — He would rather have filled us with unfeeling
ferocity — given us hearts incapable of humanity, of sympa-
thy or mercy, and armed us, as he has done the hyena or
the tiger, with fangs and claws, to lacerate and tear,w///20wr
remorse or comjiunction^ the palpitating limbs of pgoni-
zing life.

**Ah I then refrain the blood of beasts to spill,

And, till you can create forbear to kill !

Unthinking- man I renounce that horrid knife

Nor dare to take fur food a creature^s lifey
But wc rest not here alone. We pass on to the consi-
deration of other facts, recorded in the history of this re-
markable People; — facts, which in our apprehension
evince in the most unequivocal manner, that it has been the
will of the Author of our nature at all times that his crea-
tures should derive their subsistence from the productions
of the vegetable kingdom; and that they should not imbrue
their hands in the blood of innocent creatures for food. It
is recorded in the Bible that while this people were so-
journing in the Wilderness, they were daily fed, by the
bounty of their Heavenly Father with Manna, and that this
display of his providential and paternal care was exercised
over them, for forty years in succession ; nor did the Man-
na cease to fall till the people began to eat of the fruits of
the Promised Land. It will not be denied that the same
Omnipotence, exercised in the contmuous production of
the Manna, had it pleased the Divine Being so to employ
his power, could have furnished, with equal facility, Jlesh
for his people in the Wilderness. But it was obviously the
will of the Great Furnisher that his i.eople should be sus-
tained by bread. <* Behold," says he, "I will rain dread
fiom Heaven for you ; and the people shall go out and
gather a certain rate every day, timt I may prove thcmi

48 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE

whether they will walk according to my law or no." In
what way could Jehovah have given a plainer indication
of his intentions respecting the food of this, his peculiar
People ?

The land of Promise was represented to the Israelites
as a land flowing with milk and honey— -a land oi wheat
barley, figs, pomegranates, and other rich vegetable pro-
ductions, without even once mentioning any kind of ani-
mal food, or depicting the country as adapted to the pur-
poses of grazing, with the view of fattening cattle. The
promises made to them as the blessirgs of obedience
were '' the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth ;"
and it is, my Christian Friends, an important and remarka-
ble fact, though neither gen^erally known nor acknowledg-
ed, that whenever Jehovah prescribes or apjiointa a diet
for mankind he never mentions the flesh of animals as
constituting any part of that which <' is good for food."
Wc would wish you, Christian Friends, to particularly
notC'^^we say, prescribes or appoints. We are not here
speaking of what he permits a sinful nation to do. He
appointeth one thing, and yet, under certain circumstances,
he permitteth another that is opposed to J^is appointment.
We will illustrate our meaning: — lie appointed from the
beginning "that man should leave his father and his mo^
ther, s^nd should cleave unto his wife, so tlmt they twain
should become intimately one 5" but "because of the
t^ardness of their hearts," a law was given by Moses /zer^
mitting the Israelites to put away their wives, by giving
them a writ of divorcement. He appointed from the be-
ginning that mankind should live on vegetable food alone,
l)Ut whCi» the people of Israel in their disobedience to God's
wil}%and in the wickedness of their beasts lusted for flesh,
and longed to return to the flesh-pots of Egypt, he fier-^
viitted them to eat flesh, and this permission, the Bible tell^
us, was ^xtend^d not merely for one ^ay, nor two days, but

IbBRESS ON ABSTlNEifCfi. \$

for a whole month ; — and now mark the dreadful conse-
quences resulting from the permission of this disobedient
people to gratify their sinful desires — "While the flesh
was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the judg-
ment of the Lord was against the people, and they were
afHicted with a great plague." So great, indeed, was the
fatal effect of this transgression, that the place was subse*
quently denominated *Hhe sepulchre of the lusters I "—
These instances of Scripture Testimony will enable you to
understand our meaning in relation to the afifiointtncntt
of Jehovah in contradistinction to the permissions ot his
Providence ; We repeat the observation then, hoping we
are now understood, that whenever J euov ah fir escrii^rs or
afifiointB a diet for his people, that diet is always vegetable,
without any admixture of the flesh of animals, "He maketh
the grass to grow for the cattle, and ih^ green herb for the
use of Man,''' The writer of the book of Ecclesiasticus
(xxxix. 26.3 i" describing those few things that are requi-
site for man's welfare, says "The principal things for the
whole use of man's life are, water, fire, iron and salt; flour
of wheat, honey, milki and the blood of the grape, and oil
and clothing/' There can be no reasonable doubt but that
such was the light in which the subject was viewed by the
faithful among the ancient Israeliies, The refreshments
David received at diff'erent tjmes, for the support of him-
self and his si:; hundred faithful followers, from Abigail,
from Ziba and Barzillia, and likewise what was brought to
him at Hebron indicate very decidedly that such was the
case. The provisions furnished on the various occasions
J have named consisted o{ bread and wine ^ wheat and bar -^
ley^ 2Li\^Jiour of each kind, beans^ lentiles^ fiarched com^
raisinsj summer fruits^ dried Jigs^ honey ^ butter of kine^
and cheese of sheefi and oil. These were furnished in quan-
tities sufficient to supply David and his army. The tes-
timony o^ Judith^ (chap xi.) though not considered canon-

^6 ADDHT.SS ON ABSTINEXCE.

ical, is yet admitted to have such claims to authenticity as
to give importance to whatever is found in that ancient re-
cord. Judith then declares most unequivocally that the
flesh of animals was expressly forbidden to the Israclitish
Nation% In her interview with Holifernes she says ^'Our
Nation shall not be punished, neither can the sword prevail
against them, except they sin against their God ; — Bui they
have determined to lay hands upon their Cattle, and pur-
posed to consume all those things that God hath forbidden
thtm to eat by his laws /" Such were the declarations of
one of the most eminent and pious females of the Jewish
nation in her day. And can any one presume to doubt
her apprehension of the nature and extent of th« Divine
Prohibitions ?

The noble example of Daniel and his companions, who
refused to eat the meat from the King's table and to drink
the wine, and who solicited fiulse to eat, and water to
drink, is also strongly corroborative of our views. It ap-
pears indeed from the narrative of the facts as recorded
in the first chapter of his Prophesy, that vegetable food ia
not only the most nutritivcj^^^'for their countenances were
fairer and fatter in flesh than all those that eat the portion
of the Kings meat ,* — but that it contributes exceedingly to
strengthening the intellectual faculties of man, for " in all
matters of wisdom and understanding they were found by
the King, ten times better than all the magicians and as-
trologers that were in his realm." In a work published
by Paxton, entitled ^'Illustrations of Scripture," the author
declares that the ancient Jews like the modern Hindoos
abstained entirely from the us^e of flesh ; and the justly
celebrated Dr. Lightfoot informs us that even in the days of
JjEsus Christ, the Pharisees taught that it was unlawful to
eat Jle&h or to drink wine^

Before proceeding to the evidence of the Gospel on the
subject of our enquiry, we propose briefly to meet one or

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. 3 1

two of the many and variows objections that will probably be
brought forward in opposition to this system of abstinence
from the flesh of animals, which wc are feehly atteinpting
to advocate. The hrst we shall notice is one that has the
appearance of much plausibility : it is founded on the dis-
tinction between clean and unclean animals as described
in the L^vitical Law. We Apprehend the nature of the dis-
tinction in that law has been generally misunderstood.
T he prohibitions there given are respecting the animals
thiit give milk, not fit for the use pf inan. \n consequence
of such animals not rumipatifjg, their milk is crude and
unwholesome ; hence they were not to \)e touched in the
operation of miUing, nor sKoukl they be domesticated for
such a purpose. Strange as it may appear %o men of
our times, it is nevertheless an important truth, in rela-
tion to the People of Israel, that the milk and the Jieece
were the principle object:) for which herds and flocks were
kept by them, and the Patriarchs who preceded them-
Hence it is that we find a charge delivered by Scilomon tt
this end - *^Take heed that thou have goats milk enough
for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the
maintainance of thy maidens." Paul also reiterated the
like sentiment: "Who" says he **plauteth a vineyard and
catethnot of the fruit thereof? Or who (eedeth a flock
and eateth not of the milk of the flock ?'*

My hearers will doubtless remember that we read in the
Bible of a law having been given to man, almost immedi-
ately after his creation, prohibiting him from **eating of the
tree of knowledge of good and eyil ;" from which we at
once infer, without any difiicuhy of apprehension, that he
was not to eat oiihe fruit of that interdicted tree. Now
we understand and interpret this law rightly, and that for
this very simple reason ; — We have not been accustomed
either to eat wood, or the branches of treesy or to see our
fellow beings doing so. But when we read of certain am-

22 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCS.

mals being allowed, and others interdictedj we do not so
clearly see, nor with such facility understand that we arc
thereby prohibited from easing, or allowed to eat iheirjruit
or produce, that is to say, their milk. The cause of this
"slowness of heart to believe," and unwillingness to admit
the force of this important truth is obvious ; — in the present
depraved sta^e of human appetite and human feeling wc
behold mankind every where around us, like so many
beasts of prey, tearing and devouring with the greatest
avidity, the mangled limbs of butchered animals ; but had
we been placed in community with the Brahmins of Hiii-
dostan and imbibed from infancy their mild and humane
principles, we should never have believed ourselves toler-
ated, by the recorded distinction between the clean and un-
clean in the Livitical I^aw, to feed on the bodies of a portion
of animated existence. For it is unquestionably true that
as in the case of ''the tree of knowledge," the fruit of the
tree was meant, so in that of the allowed and forbidden ani-
mals, the 7nUk of the clean was allowed, but that of tho
unclean interdicted,

Were it here requisite, or if time permitted we might
reason In a similar manner in relation to those animated
existences comprehended in the law that do not come with-
m the limits of the preceeding remarks ; but our time will
not allow us to go into all the details oi the matter. Rea-
sons, however, equally potent, and consistent with our
views of the vegetable character of the aliment of the hu-
man species, can readily be assigned, for all the distinctions
enumerated.

Another objection will probably be raised on the mis-
apprehended testimony of the Bible respecting the sacri-
ficial worship of the Jews. Jt will perhaps be contendecj
that the Jews, by the command of Jehovah, offered animals
in sacrifice, and eat of their religious offerings. We arc
ready to admit that they oflered sacrifices, ai>d ate ofthf^t

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE:. 23

which was thus consecrated. But we have a few remarks
which forcibly tend, if we are not much mistaken, to
show that flesh-eating can derive no sanction, from the Bible
account of sacrifices especially when we are willing to listen
to a rational and consistent interpretation of these Jewish
ceremonies. Every one will be apt, on the first thought, to
wonder how so horrible a rile, — an ordinance so repugnant
to some of the finest and the strongest feelings of human
nature, as that of sacrificing innocent animals, could ever
have been tolerated among mankind, and especially by the
then most civilized portion of them, for a single moment :
much more, how it could have been so extensively and
constantly practised among the various nations of antiquity,
as history seems to indicate was the fact. We are of the
number of those who do not believ^e that the Israelites, in
their integrity, ever offered living animals in sacrifice, or
that Jehovah commanded any such rituals ; and we think
our principles are borne out by Scripture Testimony. —
A satisfactory theory of the origin and nature of sacrificial
worship is among the Q;re^i desiderata of modern religious
science; and surely it must be agreeable to every intelli-
gent and candid mind, to contemplate so curious a subject
in a light which invites and gratifies the understanding
rather than excites feelings of horror] To enter fully how-
ever into inquiries necessary to such an mvestigation would
require a volume of itself; a mere sketch, chiefly for the
purpose of supporting our statements is all that we can
here offer.

We will first see what the Scriptures say in relation (o
animal sacrifices being commanded by Jehovah. I need
scarcely say the prevailing opmion upon this subject
is that they were' instituted by Divine Appointment. But
David says '*Thou desirest 7iot sacrifice ; else would I give
it : thou delight est not in burnt-oflerings, the sacrifices of
God arc a broken spirit : a broken and a co7itrite hearty

!24 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

O God thou *ivilt not desfiise.'^ The Prophet Hosea fe=
presents Jehovah a? saying *^i desired mercy and not «a-
crifice^ and the knonvledge o/God rather than hurnt offer-
ings.^* So also in Jerertiiah '^I spake not unto your fathers,
nor commanded them, in that day I broughthem out of the
Land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices J
but this thing I commanded them saying, obey my voice
and 1 will be your God and ye shall be my people ; and
walk ye in the ways that! have commanded you that it
tnay be well with you.'^ Here we inter that animal sacri-
fices were not of divine appointment; on the contrary, as a
portion of the fruits of their wickedness and hostility, to
the Divine Will* it is emphatically declared '^I gave them
also statutes that ivere not good^ and judgements by which
they ought not to live^*'* In other words he permitted
these statues and rituals because ot the hardness of their
hearts.

Authority equally perspicuous is susceptible of being
produced, m proof, that the Jews, during their faithfulness
to the commandments of their God, did not sacrifice living
animals in their worship, — did not imbrue their hands, nor
stain their altars with the blood of innocent beasts. Let
us simply consider the Bible account of the dedication of
the Temple; — let us view the narrative, not according to
our prejudices, but in the light of impartial reason, and af-
ter maturely reflecting on all the circumstances let us
solemnly ask ourselves whether popular opinion on this
subject can possibly be right ? Who can tell us how one
hundred and twenty thousand sheep^ and twenty two
thousand oxeti^ could possibly be butchered and burjied in
one day in the temple then just built by Solomon ? Who
can tell us how such a number of animals could all be con-
sumed on an altar of small dimensions, made of wood, and
overlaid, with thin plates of metal? Whence came all
these sheep and oxen, and the fuel necessary for the con -

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. 5D

sumption of their bodies ? The very act of numbering'
the animals mentioned here as given by King Solomon
at this consecrationj at the rate of one-hundred and twenty
each minute would occupy full nineteen hours and three
quarters * How then, we again enquire, could they all
be butchered and consumed in a single day ? What kind
of conceptions we would also ask, must those persons have
who entertain the vulgar notions in relation to sacrifices,
respecting the Great Jevohah, who seem seriously to be-
lieve that he was delighted with the butchering of sheep
and oxen ; and fancy that the stench of burnt flesh was a
sweet smelling savour in his nostrils ? Who can conceive
that the beautiful structure raised by Solomon, and conse-
crated to the worship of Jehovah could not be deemed an
appropriate place for the manifestation of the Divine Pl--
RiTY, until it became filled with the fumes of burning vic-
tims and defiled with the filth, and blood and garbage which
must obviously be the concomitants of such butchery r*
Would such a scene as the Temple must have presented,
if living sacrifices were really made, be calculated to in-
spire a congregation with devotional feelings ? Would it
not rather produce abhorrence and disgust ? But "wc
cease. It could not be so. The sacrifices of the Jews
were no doubt widely different from that view which has
been palmed on the ^vorld through the darkness of human
tradition. We have in this address only time to say, that
in the Scriptures the names of animals are applied to ves-
sels made of their respective skins ; to monies, stamped
with their appropriate figures ; to jiastry images of them,
made of fine flour and other ingredients as specified in the
Livitical law- to human beings^ and to individual spirits
or societies^ seen above by Prophets, Apostles, and other
Holy men of old, enveloped in bestial spheres. We
merely add, that the sheep and the oxen, oflered by Solo-
mon at this consecration were doubtless pieces of money of

26 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

the value of the animal with whose image they were im-
pressed, and by whose name they v/ere designated.

We come now to the testimony as it is recorded in the
Gospel Dispensation in relation to the subject of oui inves-
tigation. And here my Christian Friends, let us not de-
ceive ourselves by imagining as some have done, that
Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our Salvation^
came into the world, to abrogate or destroy the law or the
Prophets, as given under a previous dispensation. ^'I
came not to deuroy^ but to JuIJiL^^ Neither let us erro-
neously conclude, that the Gospel developes a system of
legislation, differing in any of its essential principles from
that order instituted by Infinite Wisdom from the very
creation of the world. '^With him there is no variable-
ness nor even a shadow of changing." He never departs
from the laws of Divine order, which he immutably es-
tablished at ^he beginning. The Gospel, in our appre-
hension, is simply the manifestation of those means, al-
ways provided of the Divine mercy of the Lord, by which
the children of men, degenerate as they had even then be-
come, might be restored to that felicity, w^hich, through
transgression, they had unhappily lost : that they might be
re-exalted to that estate, from which, through sm, they had
lamentably fallen. The effect of those means, in the re-
newal and restoration of Human Nature, are fully exem-
plified in the history of the "Redemption and Glorification
oi that nature by Je^us Christ. ''He came that he might
save, and that he might save unto the uttermost." But
you will call to mind that in the renovation of our nature,
which he assumed, he observed the Law, he fulfilled even
that primitive law first given to man. "He was a Nazarite
from the womb." "Butter and Honey shall he eat" says
the Prophet, "that he may know to choose tlie good, and
to reject the evil." If such is the kind of testimony pre-
sented in the Gospel, is it not the duty of his followers to

ADDKES3 ON ABSTINEJJCIi. 27

walk in his footsteps, and imitate with all their ability, his
bright and glorious example ? His Forerunner, John the
Baptist, the messenger to prepare his way before him,
lived on locusts, (the fruit of the locust tree,) and wild
honey, and yet it is emphatically said of him that '^of those
born of woman there has not arisen a greater than John."
''Be ye wise as serpents," says our Redeemer, when in-
structing his disciples, "and harmless as doves." The
Serpent is described by Naturalists as one of the most
watchful of all animated existences ; and the Dove as an
mnocent and inoffensive creature, that feeds only on the
productions of the vegetable world. Such then it appears
to us, should the followers of the meek and humble Jesus
be ; — such the circmns/iection of character, and such the
dietetic conduct of all his faithful followers.

Soon after the commencement of the Christian Church
the Apostles held a council, w^hence was subsequently pro-
mulgated a decree to the Churches, composed principally
at that period of Gentile converts. In that important doc-
ument, the members of the first Christian Council declare,
''It seemeth good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon
you no greater burthen than these necessary things : that
ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood,
(that is, the blood cf the grape, in your religious feasts,
when rendered intoxicating by fermentation,) and from
things strangled" — or, in other words, ''which have suffer-
ed a violent death." But do not all animals which fall a
sacrifice to the butcher's knife suffer a violent death ?
Are we not then, as Christians, enjoined to abstain from
eating such things, as a necessary part of our "obedience
unto the faith ?" The light in which the Apostle Paul ap-
prehended this decree is easily perceived. He was a
member of the Council, and subsequently ooe of those
deputed by its authority to deliver the decree to the
Churches. He yoluntarily took upon hiin the fulfilment

28 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

of the delegated duty, and his declarations to the churches
are remarkable, ^^It is goodj "says he," neither to eat Jlcahj
nor to drink wme.'^ Did the Apostle of the Gentiles not
understand the will of the Council ? It will scarcely be
contended that in announcing it to be good neither to eat
flesh nor drink wine, he transcended his powers or that he
misrepresented the sentiments of this primitive Christian
Council. Such an inference will not readily find a place m
any mind, wishful to see the truth as it is in Jesus.

It is said that Peter, James and John were Fishermen
with Zebedee their futher ; and yet says the justly cele-
brated Cahnet, "they never ate, either fish or flesh or
fowl." In brief, Christian Friends, there are m?,ny testimo-
nies tending to induce the belief that the doctrine for which
we are contending, was that maintained by the whole
Christian Church for upwards of two hundred years.
Philo, accordingly, in writing of the Christians of his own
time, says "they not only abstain from eating flesh, but
none can be found amongst them that voluntarily engage
in manufacturing darts, arrows, swords, helmets, breast-
plates, nor even such weapons as might be converted to
bad purposes in time of peace ; much {ess tjo any of tl^en^
engage in war or its arts.*'

In opposition to our views, the language of our Redeem^
er, as delivered to the Pharisees will probably be cited ;
"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth the man ;'*
But does any one seriously imagine, and really believe,
that our Saviour, by this declaration meant to give full
license to gluttony and intemperance, or that his followers,
might eat or drink any thing with impunity which the Law
of God had forbidden to be used ? The sense in which
these words were intended to be ui^derstood must be at-
tained by a consideration of the reason and the occasion o\
their being spoken. The context informs us that Xhp
Phariseesj being offended, murmured at the disciple J5 of

ADDRESS ON ABSTIJSENCE. %9

Jesus for silting down to meat with unwashed hands : in
answer to then' murmurini^ Jesus said, ''Not that which
goeth into the nriouth defileth kc," In other words, not
any little soil taken into the mouth hy euting with unwash-
ed hands can be said to defile the man ; this we apprehend
is the plain and obvious meaning of the passage. Ii is
further worthy of remark tl^^at these words were spoken
about twenty years prior to the Apostolic Decree,to which
we have already directed your attention ; and it is not pro-
bable the Apostles would make a decree, directly in con-
tradiction to the declaration of Him whose cause they ad-
vocated, and by whose authority they had stood forth as
the champions of the Gospel Dispensation.

The vision of Peter as recorded in the Acts of the Apos-
tles is often produced by those who would sustain the flesh
eating system, as proof indubitable, that man is sanctioned
by the Chii^stian Scriptures in eating flesh. The language
recorded, as addressed to Peter on that occasion is — ''Rise
Peter, kill and eat.'' But before we acquiesce in such an
interpretation, let us first enquire, — if Peter was directed
by this vision and this language to kill and eat animals and
other reptile existences, did he do as he was commanded ?
He certamly did not ; for after being exhibited before him
three times in succession, he expressly says, they "were
all drawn up again into heaven." Let us again enquire
whether there is any thing like reasonableness in concluding
that living animals, of flesh and blood, were actually let
down from Heaven in a sheet, when we are assured that
flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven ? —
Again let us ask, What instruction did Peter derive from
this vision ? "Of a truth" says he "I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons : but that in every nation,
he thatfeareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted
with him." Thus as the testimony appears to us, Peter
learned not to call any ?7ian common or unclean. He was

^^ ADDRESS ON ABSTINECB.

taught to look upon the ani?nai appearances exhibited to
his view, as representatives of the Gentile Nations ; but we
have no reason to believe he learned any thing by this vision
respecting killing cattle, or eating flesh; or that he was
intended to derive any such instruction from the vision.-*-
Peter in common with the rest of the Jews, was prejudiced
against the Gentiles ; by this vision his prejudice was cor-
rected, for after it he went in to cat sacramentally \vith
men that were uncircumciscd, on their becoming Chris-
tians,—God having in this way taught him so to do. The
renderingof the language to Peter is ^^ Rise Peter co?ise-
crate and eat''

*> O mortals ! from the f,esh of beasts abstain,
Nor taint your bodies with a food profane ;
V/hile coin and pulse by nature ?ire bestowed,
And planted orchards bend their willing load ;
While labored gardens wholesome herbs produce,
And tecminor vines afford their gen'rous juice ;
Nor tardier fruits of cruder kind are lost,
But tamed by heat or mellowed by the frost :
While kinc to pails distended udders bring,
And bees their honey redolent of Spring :
While earth not only pan your needs supply,
Put, lavish of her store, provides for lu^^ury ;
A guiltlessi feast administers with ease,
And without bloody is prodigal to please."
It will also be objected, especially in regard io^/tf^h, that
pur Saviour led the multitude with loaves and fishes ; that
he ate of a broiled fish and t\ honey-combj and that'several
of his disciples were fiiihermen. To this we reply with
all possible brevity. First, that there are various sorts of
fishermen, as pearl fishers, coral fishers, fishers of sub-ma-
rine and water-plants of various kinds ^s well as ^f the living
or animal fish ; and secondly, that the t^rm used for fish in
the Gospel does not mean fish in its common acceptation.
Parkhurst, in his Greek Lexicon says, and his authority
will be duly respected, "It seems not very natural to un-
tf^erstar-^ Hie Greek Word opsarion, (John xxi 9) as srir

UP

ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE. 31

nifying fish. It signifies some other kind of provision, of
the delicious sort^ that may be eaten with bread." In short
we believe there is reasonable ground for our argument,
that the Scriptures, rightly interpreted, do not sanction the
eating of either fish, or flesh, or towl. There is, we believe
testimony sufficient in them as they are, to raise doubts in
enquiring minds, and the Apostle says **He that doubteth
is condemned if he eat ; for whatsoever is not of faith is
dn.''

Lastly: — Christianity inculcates self .denial ^^ owq of the
duties of her votaries ; a term that denotes a relinquish-
ment of every thing that stands in opposition to the divine
commands, or that would be detrimental to their spiritual
welfare. She calls upon her followers to deny themselves,
and take up their cross daily. She entreats them to mor*
tify the body with its deeds ; to shun fleshly lusts ; to avoid
luxury, intemperance and gluttony, and whatever is done,
that it be done in the fullness of faith, without doubting
and in the fear of the Lord. She represents the blessings
of Eternal Life as attainable only by keeping the Com-
mandments. She exhorts her believers to be humane and
merciful, as their Father in the heavens is merciful ; to
mortify the fleshly mind,which is ever contrary to the mind
of Christ ; to keep the body under subjection to the pre-
cepts of the Gospel ; not to live to the flesh, but in all
things, whether they eat or drink, or whatsoever they do,
that it be done to the glory of their Heavenly Father. She
calls upon her followers peremptorily to renounce all those
pleasures of sense, worldly examples, and unhallowed piac-
tices, that are prejudicial to their physical well being, or
injurious to the spiritual interests of immortal souls. And
shall Christianity hold out to us these blessed truths of our
holy religion in vain? Shall we continue rebellious to her
purifying and heavenly doctrine of self-deniaH Shall we
be unwilline to take up oar cross; to^die daily to ^n indul-

32 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE.

gence in the pleasures of an overexcited sensation, whelh-
er arising from eating fie ^h or drinking wine ? Shall we
not be ready "to present our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unio God which is indeed but our reasonable
service ?" Shall we not labor with all diligence, by living
according to the order of our nature and the command-
ments of our God, to attain unto that holiness of Spirit,
without which no man can see God; and even strive to pre-
pare our very bodies that they may become appropriate
'Temples of the Holy Spirit?' Skall i]\e voice of Humanity,
Reason and Christianity plead with us to no purpose? —
Shall we continue to make a god of our appetites, and net
turn from following the corrupting example of " riotous
eaters of flesh?"

Christian Friends, let us endeavor to impress the
importance of this subject upon our minds. Let us
ever remember that all religion which does not produce
its appropriate effect upon the life is futile and useless —
mere vanity and vexation of spirit, instead of life, and peace
in the Holy Spirit. Let us never forget that one of ihe
most exalted attributes of the Christian, is that of consist-
ency in practical life, with the theoretic principles he pro-
fesses. It is this which pre-eminently distinguishes the
devout and sincere professor, from the common mass of
mankind. Let us bear in mind, that to us, most especially
my Christian Friends, the world turns for such an example ;
that to us pure and undefiled religion calls for such aeon-
duct ; to the consistency of our practise with the clemency
and humanity of our profession, as believers in the Bible
Testimony, that it is good neither to eat flesh nor drink
wine, bleeding Christianity looks as her only refuge. Let
her not look in vain. Stand for the cause of Truth against
all the efforts of those 'who live to the flesh.' Stand as the
soldiers of your Redeemer, in the blessed armor of the
Gospel, with the shield of faith, and the breastplate of righ-

ADDKESS ON ABSTINENCE. 33

teousness, having for a helmet the hope of salvation, and
girded with the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of
God. Yet contend not my Christian Friends in the tem-
per of angry controversy, for the battle is the Lord's, and
he demands of us the spirit of meekness and holiness,
the spirit of supplication and prayer, the spirit of a diligent
co-operation with him, the spirit of benevolence and an
affeciionate solicitude for the souls of all men. Fear not
then, that the rays of this heavenly doctrine, if faithfully
mirrored in the lives of our little community, will be wholly
lost in the darkness that surrounds us on this subject. In
such case we shall know and feel that we have strength
and power from on High ; and we cannot doubt that the
sober wishes of the moral, the intellectual and the virtuous
of every creed, will always be with us. We are not in-
deed to expect that immediate and complete success is to
crown our infantile exertions in this self-sacrificing cause.
The storm and the whirl-wind of htiman prejudices and er-
roneous sentiments must first Jiass by before the still
S7nall voice o{ Chvi^XxdiU clemency, meek-eyed mercy z^nc]
child-like humanity can be beneficially heard. Oiir ajii^
is not violently to snatch the fatal knife frorn the bloody
hands of the butcher, nor ruthlessly to tear i\\Q feast
of death from the teeth of the riotous eaters of Jiesh,-^^
Our high object is to instruct ; to correct general sentiment
and to detern)ine the principles of public habits so as to
cherish universal humanity | believing that in proportion
^s the minds of the moral and intelleetual among our fellow
mortals are sufficiently awakened to the in^pprtance qf the
dietetics of the Bible, they will withdrav/ themselves fron;
a system of cruel habits, which involves a portion of the
animal creation in needless suffering and untimely death ;
and which has unquestionably a baneful eff'ect upon the
physical existence and the intellectual, the moral and r§-?
Jigious powers of m^in.

54 ADDRESS ON ABSTINENCE,

In corxlusion, my Christian Friends if we would seek
to invigorate and expand the principles of our own
faith, or be instrumental in effecting the conversion
of others, let us not confide in our own strength,
but rather look unto Him who is the author and finisher
of our salvation, and who alcne knoweth the unruly wills
and darkened understandings of sinful men, for his blessing
on our feeble labors. Let us remember that the most
convincing argument is the spectacle of a pure and con-
sistent example; — that while controversy, uninfluenced by
prayer, has a natural tendency to irritate and inflame, to in-
crease the obstinacy of prejudice, and rivet the stubborn-
ness of seli-will, devotion will frequently soften, kindness
will conciliate, and affection will reclaim.

And now may His blessing for the future so guide our
course, and prosper our efforts, that we may find cause to
rejoice in the extension of pure and undefiled religion, and
not only experience its increasmg influence within our
own souls, but to behold its present growth among our
fellow mortals, until every domestic hearth shall have its
altar, — until the Word and Spirit of the Most High shall
govern our country and the world ; until carnal-mindedness
inhumanity, vice and profanity, intemperance, wretched-
ness and immorality shall vanish; the whole earth be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord, and the period come,

when, according to Jehovah by his Prophet, <' They shall
neither hurt no8 destroy in all my Holy Mountain.''

ADDRESS ON ABSTI.NKNCE. 35

HYMN

Huitiaiiity and llelJgion Fleadiiig against FlesH-£IatiiiS«

t " Eaters of flesh I*' could you decry

Our food and sacred laws,
Did you behold the lambkin die,

And feel yourselves the cause ?

Lo ! there it struggles I hear it moan^
As stretch'd beneath the knife :

Jts eye would melt a heart of stone i
How meek it begs its life !

Had God, for man, its flesh design'd i
Matur'd by death the brute,

Lifeless, to us had been consigned,
As is the ripen'd fruit.

Hold, daring man ! from murder stay :

God is the life in all.
You smite at God! when flesh you slay

Can such a crime be small ?

t See Prov, xxiii, 20.